Bottle carrier



Nov. 9, 1943. w. P.. ROCKER ET AL BOTTLE CARRIER Filed April 16, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NOV. 9, 1943. w ROCKER ET AL 2,333,954

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed April 16, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 9, 1943 BG'ETLE CARRIER William Parks Booker and Jacob Baum Taylor, Atlanta, assignors to Southern Spring Bed Company, Atlanta,

, Georgia a corporation of Application April 16, 1941, Serial No. 388,884

1 Claim. This invention relates to display carrier de vices and mor particularly to devices of the type commonly employed to display and transport relatively small groupsof bottles or other containers.

In accordance with the invention, a display carrier is provided which is so designed and constructed that the bottles grouped together are not only displayed prominently when the carrier is in actual use and are safely held for convenient handling, but may also be collapsed so as to occupy but small space when th carrier is not in use. It has been customary heretofore to provide dispensers of bottled goods, particularly beverages, with paper-board carriers for small groups of bottles, each such carrier comprising a well or receptacle for the bottles, generally six, and an upstanding carrying or suspending means whichmay be readily grasped in the hand, the carrier being usually given away when a consumer purchases all of the bottles which it contains.

The carrier which comprises the subject-matter of the present invention, however, is of durable type, capable of being used many times, is collapsible so that it may be readily stored in small space when not in use, is attractive in appearance and may be constructed at small cost: It likewise is so constructed that wear and tear on the bottles which it may contain while being handled is minimized, the carrier contracting around the bottles when loaded and in use, pressing the bottles against each other and thus avoiding rattling and chipping of the glass. Likewise, the improved carrier has the advantage of including a carrying bail or handle which may be vertically displaced when the carrier is not being moved about, the bail being lowered below the tops of the bottles which the carrier contains, thus making it possible for the bottom of one carrier to be placed directly upon the tops of the bottles of the carrier below. In other words, the type of carrier contemplated by the invention permits stacking of carriers one upon the other, a feature of considerable advantage under many circumstances.

The design and arrangement of the various component elements of the improved carrier may be considerably varied in adapting the same for the reception, storage and transportation of bottles of different sizes and characteristics, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, and that embodiment which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter described in detail, has been selected for disclosure by way of example only.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the carrier, a group of six bottles which it holds being indicated in chain lines;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carrier in a partially collapsed and empty condition;

Figure 3 shows the carrier in fully collapsed condition;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the carrier of the preceding views but showing, attached to the side thereof, a display surface for advertising matter; and

Figure 5 is an end elevation of the carrier showing the carrying or suspending means in operative position in dotted lines and in folded position in full lines.

,As clearly shown in the drawings, the carrier is fabricated of rod-like members of small diameter and these rod-like members may conveniently be sections of metal wire wrought into the shapes shown, wire being easily worked into desired shape, readily welded, suflicientl stiff so as to maintain its shape and yet, when formed of metal of the desired composition and having the desired diameter, possessing a considerable resiliency which is advantageous when the arrier is in use.

The carrier bottom is grid-like, comprising a plurality of parallel bottom elements it, the ends of whichrest upon and are secured to, preferably by welding, the parallel transversely disposedend elements II. Each carrier side includes a main member which is U-shaped, having a bottom bar I2 and upwardly extending parallel legs I3, to-

gether with a top bar I4 and an intermediatebar I5, the top and intermediate bars being parallel to the bottom bar I2 and welded to the upstanding legs I3. The bottom bar I2 of each side is pivotally attached to the carrier bottom, the ends II of bars II being loosely looped around bar I2, as shown. The ends of the intermediate side bars I5 are provided with loops I5 and linking the loops I5 together are the end bars ll, each bar I! having looped ends II which interengage with the looped ends I5 of the intermediate bars I 5 of the sides. It will be perceived that the end bars I! function to maintain the carrier sides in parallel relationship and these bars also function, when the carrier is loaded, to prevent escape of bottles.

Connected to the tops of the two carrier sides i the carrying or suspending mean and this carrying or suspending means comprises the bail member 20 which'preferably has the form of an W ed 28 its ends, and four link members 2!, each such member having a looped and 1| which through a similarly formed loop H at the end oi the top member is of the adjacent side, and a loop 2H2 through which loosely encircles the bottom but of the triangular loop 20' o! the bail Ell. With the various parts oi the carrier disposed in the positions in which they are illustrated in. Figure 1, six bottles may be readily in serted and these bottles occupy practically all of the carrying space available, as indicated in Figure 5. The bottles when full have a very considerable weight and, when the carrier and its contents are suspended by means of the bail 20, the sides will be flexed inwardly due to the inward pull exerted by each link 2| upon the upper end oi the associated Slue member l3, bringing the top side bars 14 into contact with the sides of the bottles, thus moving the bottles toward each other and into contact so that, so long as the carrier and its contents continue to be suspended, the bottles will be largely held against rattling, at least the possible movement of one bottle relative to another is greatly curtailed. The legs I3 01? the side members are of such composition, diameter and length as to permit the neces.

sary flexures to occur.

When emptied of its contents, the carrier may be readily re-charged or may be collapsed and, in Figure 2, it is shown in a partially collapsed condition, the bail 20 being down-turned and the sides having been partially tilted with respect to the base. In Figure 3, the various elements of the carrier are shown in the positions which they occupy when the carrier is completely collapsed and it will be seen that the carrier occupies but small space and may be readily handled and stored.

In Figure 5, the carrier is shown in end view,

with contents in chain lines, the suspending means being illustrated in dotted lines in the position which it occupies when the carrier is being transported, and being shown infull lines in downwardly deflected position, the ball 20 and links 2| being below the plane which includes the i or plate-indicated at 25, this plate being preterably a, light metal sheet, the upper edge of which is rolled over the top bar I of the side and the lower edge of which is rolled over 'or around the intermediate bar l5 0! the side. Upon this dis play guard or sheet may be inscribed any suitable legends advertising the beverages contained in the bottles which the carrier is primarily intended to receive. Naturally, the carrier will serve its purpose best when dimensioned so as to receive a definite number 01 bottles 01 definite diameters and heights, but, of course, it will be of considerable utility when employed for the storage and transportation of bottles of other sizes and characteristics and, indeed, in handling articles other than bottles. In Figure 5, the leg members 13 of the sides ofthe carrier are shown to be substantially curved or inwardly deflected. It will be appreciated that this inward flexure need only be very slight in the average case, to be of advantage when the bottles have the diameters for which the carrier is preferably designed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A collapsible bottle carrier comprising a bottom member, substantially rectangular side members each hingedly connected to the bottom member for swinging movement in either direction or rotation about parallel axes lying in the plane of the bottom member and to a limit or movement wherein either one of said side members lies substantially in said plane and the other is disposed in a substantially parallel plane against the bottom member when the carrier is collapsed, a link pivotally connecting corresponding ends of said side members at each end of the carrier, said links being attached to said side members above the bottom member and well below the upper edges or the rectangular side members and being disposed parallel to the end edges 01 said bottom frame, said links being or a material sumciently rigid to maintain the lower portions of the side members in parallelism at all times, resisting departure from such parallelism whether arising from movement of said side members toward or away from each other, and carrying means comprising an inverted U-shaped bail member and a pair of links at each end or said ball member, the links 01' each pair extending in oppolste directions toward the side members, each link having one of its ends pivotally connected with the bail member and its opposite end pivotally connected to the upper portion of the adjacent side mem- 1 her, each of the links being of a length substantlally equal to one-halt the distance from one side member to the other when in position for use, and the height of the bail member being at least equal to the length 01 one of said links, at least the upper portions of said side members being resillentso that their upper edges will be drawn uncover the articles disposed within the carrier,

to permit stacking or ready removal of said articles in any sequence desired.

WILLIAM PARKS ROCKER. JACOB BAUM TAYLOR. 

